The content modification within the framework of the massive open online courses (case study: International and Russian practices)

Abstract

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are the new form of educational experience that has emerged as a result of the distance learning development as well as the movement to open educational resources. We can talk about the fourth-integrative stage of E-learning evolution, which is based on a complex-virtual training technology. The foundation is the evolutionary way of providing information through the integrated implementation of advanced telecommunication systems enabling any possible transfer of any form of information to any part of the world as quickly as possible. The objectives are as follows: Describe the main strategies of countries’ behavior in the MOOC market; analyze the positioning of countries in the international MOOC market; present possible activities in the international MOOC market for Russian providers. The following data sources were used: articles, reports, official documents on MOOC topics, and information from online platform sites; a database of quantitative data collected from two leading online platforms; a database of quantitative data from the Class Central aggregator, which provides information on MOOCs hosted on several large online platforms. This chapter analyzes the features, challenges, and perspective of the evolving massive open online courses in the context of the global information society or the knowledge-based society formation.